


Strelitzia reginae

by necromantrix



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, HAROLD THEY'RE LESBIANS, Slow Burn, this runs from 358/2 days to post khiii speculation btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 20:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11744670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/necromantrix/pseuds/necromantrix
Summary: The memories are dear to her. Bright smiles, flashes of red hair, the sea reflected in periwinkle eyes; they're some of the first memories she has, and when she's told that she's a Nobody who can't feel, she wonders why it is her stomach feels light whenever she thinks of the mystery girl.Xion meets Kairi at the end of their world.





	Strelitzia reginae

**i.**   
  
The memories are dear to her. Bright smiles, flashes of red hair, the sea reflected in periwinkle eyes; they're some of the first memories she has, and when she's told that she's a Nobody who can't feel, she wonders why it is her stomach feels light whenever she thinks of the mystery girl.   
  
She never trusts Xemnas, not completely.

  
  
**ii.**   
  
The sea is beautiful and it brings back memories of seashells and promises. The shells themselves were an oath to come back to each other...   
  
or something like that.   
  
A star-shaped fruit hangs on the tree she watches the waves crash from.

  
  
  
**iii.**   
  
She learns that the memories aren't hers; they belong to a boy she's never heard of; she's a puppet and the memories belong to someone else. She's only absorbed them from Roxas by her proximity to him. The girl was Kairi, and the memories of her are the boy's most precious memories. They've shaped her appearance, the one that Roxas and the Imposter see in place of the blank slate.   
  
The memories may not be hers, but she treats them like they are.

  
  
**iv.**   
  
Every time she flees the Organization, it's in search of answers and purpose. Xemnas and Saïx give her one set of answers, and the Imposter—Riku, she learns—gives her another. The former is of duty and purpose, a creation fulfilled without choice. The latter? She's her own person, even if she shouldn't exist. The choice is hers to make, but she has to make the right one.   
  
Feeling conflicted is just that; a feeling, right?

  
  
**v.**   
  
It's with a heavy heart she gives herself up to save Roxas, sacrificing herself by his hand to fade away and join with Sora.

  
  
**vi.**   
  
Xion opens her eyes when she shouldn't. She should be gone. Her last memories are of sorrow and fading, of sacrifice and hurt. But there are memories before that; memories she knows she shouldn't have still. They went back to Sora...   
  
Didn't they?   
  
She blinks a few times and pushes herself off the soft surface (a couch?) and onto her feet, her hand to her head, before she looks around. This was the mansion. But how?   
  
It registers with her then that people are there. Sora is there, and Riku, and Axel, and... Roxas... and...  __ how is this all...?  
  
"She'll be fine," is the last thing she hears before the world goes dark, a steadying weight supporting her under her neck as someone catches her mid-fall.

  
  
**vii.**   
  
It takes time to adjust.

Axel is Lea now and the boy who looks identical to Roxas is Ven. Riku is a Keyblade Master but Sora isn’t. They’re all preparing for an impending Keyblade War. Xemnas will be there, and so will Saïx, who is now Isa, who was Axel/Lea’s best friend at some point, who may or may not be possessed in some way.

The one she wants to see—the one she looks like—, she doesn’t see for a while.

When she finally sits in on Lea’s training with Kairi, her heart skips several beats as she watches.

 

**viii.**

They get to know each other quickly. Kairi’s a Princess of Heart, she learns, which means she has no darkness within her at all. Once she knows that, it’s easy for Xion to see. Kairi seems endlessly friendly and forgiving, even when it’s easy to see that she doesn’t  _ want _ to be.

Some people don’t deserve forgiveness, and when Isa is saved, Xion doesn’t forgive him for the way he treated her, but Kairi struggles to hold onto a grudge she so desperately wants to hold tight to.

Even when talking about the remaining Darknesses, Xion can see the angry light fade from Kairi’s eyes the quickest.

 

**ix.**

The war reaches its peak in a violent clash, one that would surely be felt for years to come.

It isn’t without its casualties.

They survive with their own share of survivor’s guilt, and they find it best not to think about the ones who didn’t make it.

 

**x.**

Kairi’s parents allow Xion to move in with them, readily accepting her as one of their own like they did for Kairi all those years ago. It’s nice for both of them to be close by someone who also felt the sting of war but didn’t feel the need to run. (The battle changed Sora in several ways, and he needed to take some time to travel the worlds alone. They all understood and no one questioned it.)

Some nights are peaceful, with the gentle sounds of waves caressing the shore the only sounds in the dark. Other nights are more troubled, and when Kairi wakes crying and screaming, Xion pads her way down the hall to crawl into her bed and comfort her.

It’s those nights when she cries herself to sleep, too.

 

**xi.**

Kairi shows her the way around the islands. She learns where the school is (even though it will be a while before Kairi wants to go back to that), and the store, and the best parks.

A common flower throughout the gardens of the archipelago catches her attention, and Kairi tells her it’s a  _ bird of paradise. _ The flowers are bright and colorful and beautiful, like the shells Xion loves collecting, but they look sharper, like they want to fight back but are too frail to do any damage.

Orange and purple and green and…

Xion looks down at her clenched fist and slowly opens it, revealing a crushed flower, its petals bruised and bent. A soft sigh of disappointment passes over her lips before she sees Kairi holding out her hand—atop her palm rests another bruised and broken flower.

The two look at each other with understanding in their eyes.

They don’t go to the small island.

 

**xii.**

They make charms together, sitting on the sand in the sun with shells they spend all morning gathering. They need one for all of their friends, so they can always find their ways back to where they belong.

Naminè joins them sometimes, drawing the face of the future owner of the charm carefully on each one.

It feels extra lucky to have all three of them working on good luck charms together.

 

**xiii.**

Thirteen is an unfortunate number.

The thirteenth of every month comes with a weight they try to hoist off, hoping one day it will be a sail instead of an anchor.

 

**xiv.**

The taste of the paopu is sweet on their lips and sticky on their fingers as they entwine them together.

The tree’s been reclaimed by good memories, finally, and it feels like a small victory.

They smile for what feels like the first time in ages, the taste of the destiny-entwining fruit still on the others lips.

For what feels like the first time in ages, they don’t taste ash when they smile.


End file.
